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As the start of a new NFL season begins, three things are for certain: the Browns will stink, the Patriots are Super Bowl favorites, and everyone will start or join a fantasy football league. In 2017, there are 59.3 million people playing fantasy sports in the US and Canada. Avid football fans and casual fans alike will join fantasy football. However, I have not joined and played in any league because quite frankly, it’s not worth my time.

First of all, draft night is always overhyped; the NFL is – admittedly – an entertaining sport at times, however following it closely enough to field a successful team is exhausting. You have to avidly follow the NFL to know who to draft besides the big name players, and for many, the later rounds become complete guesswork. Furthermore, with the top 300 rankings, risers and fallers for the new season, love or hate players for the week, and the 3 hour fantasy football now show produced by ESPN every Sunday is too much for me, and many others, to handle.

Secondly, fantasy football is very unpredictable. For example, the first NFL game was the Chiefs versus the Patriots last Thursday. Kansas City’s rookie running back, Kareem Hunt, racked up an NFL record 246 yards from scrimmage against the Patriots. He scored 39 fantasy points and helped many fantasy owners tremendously. Tom Brady was 16/36 with 267 yards passing with no touchdowns, while Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith was 28/35 with 365 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. People know that Tom Brady is better than Alex Smith, but that didn’t matter anymore.

Finally, you have to make major sacrifices in other areas to keep up. For example, last night, I could have watched the Saints at the Vikings or the Chargers at the Broncos, but I had homework to do and other sporting events that mattered. I’m not going to put off my homework and other TV events that I want to watch just to watch these games and stay up later.

I wasn’t going to miss the game for the world and I’m not going to watch the Saints’ defense play because I have them on my team. I love watching my Seahawks play, but I’m not going to waste my time watching the Falcons play the Bears just because I drafted Matt Ryan.

It’s an unpopular opinion, but fantasy football is overrated and not worth your time. Play some real football with your friends and family. Don’t watch the Browns or 49ers because one of the players is on your fantasy team: it’s just a waste of your precious time and youth.

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Bob joined The Flightline in January of 2016. His interests include cross country and track. He enjoys watching MLB baseball and his favorite baseball team is the Arizona Diamondbacks. You can email him at [email protected]